Compared with the local labor market
Payroll Technician III pay vs. California
Across all employers in California, the median wage for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks — about 20,590 people — is $65,340. State Polytech University pays a median base salary of $58,472 for this role, 11% below that figure — about the 31st percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where State Polytech University sits in the local pay range
$46,120
$56,230
$65,340
$78,870
$92,080
State Polytech University median · $58,472
The bar is the range of annual wages for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks across every employer in California, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows State Polytech University’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks — about 153,140 people — is $58,260. State Polytech University’s median base salary is in line withthat national figure, about the 50th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$39,500
$47,990
$58,260
$69,600
$81,350
State Polytech University median · $58,472
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the California range relative to the national one.
Computed over the 18 of 21 people in this role paid at least $25,000 in base salary. The rest are part-year or part-time records, whose actual pay isn’t comparable to a full-time annual wage.
Median total compensation for this role at State Polytech University is $58,472, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare departments
This role across California
Payroll Technician III is held in 2 California departments. In State Polytech University, the median of $72,589 ranks #1 of 2.
Highest-paying departments for this role
Median total compensation for the Payroll Technician III role in other Californiadepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.
Compare jurisdictions
Payroll Technician beyond California
This role is reported in 3 jurisdictions. In California, the median of $52,881 ranks #3 of 3. See Payroll Technician across all of California →
Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role
Median total compensation for comparable Payroll Technician roles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.